UNO, dos, tres..."Wii" wanna have some fun!

Some of my friends and I decided to get back together at Wendy's and continue our "Snow Day" celebrations. At this point, everyone is feeling a little housebound and it was a lot of fun to get together again and play some games. (I need apologize for my pictures, apparently during my little ski trip adventures, I got some water drops on my camera lens and didn't notice until I took these pics.)


Susan got a new haircut...."We think your gor-geous!"

Wendy (aka Vanna) was very excited about her new garbage can. It's actually very cool! You just have to move your hand in front of it and it opens automatically! Great when your hands are full or if you have two curious puppies who like to go exploring in the middle of the night!

Susan brought her family's new game, Uno Flash. It was a ton of fun even if I am too slow to keep up and she had to slow the game down! Ok, so maybe I whined a little and blamed the machine when I lost....but I really did have fun. I can't wait to give that one a try again!

Next, we had to give the "Wii" a try. Oh my goodness! I haven't laughed that much in a long time. Sheila also has one...it was quickly obvious that she was the "Wii expert". It is amazing how many games there are to play with Wii.

Some exciting bull racing.....

Best way to capture the fun is with a little video :)......

Some dodgeball..... I sat this one out. These ladies take their dodgeball VERY seriously......

These mommies have their very own "cheerleaders"....

Paper airplane racing...this one was much more my speed!

Ok, now the "real experts" will show us how it is done!

After we were all worn out and were relaxing, Wendy's son brought out his prize Christmas gift, a remote controlled insect! Better yet, it actually shoots darts with suction cups! I have to admit that I thought this was pretty cool!

It was another fun night! I can hardly wait to see what fun we find in the New Year! Thanks Wendy for always making us feel so comfy!

Our Little Town....

Today I decided to get out of the house. I had a couple of Netflix movies to drop in the mail so I thought, "What the heck! Throw your cross country skis on and go!" I took a few pictures along the way. I knew it was snowing, but honestly did not realize how hard until I was actually out in it.

My first photo stop was at a little park around the corner from me. This is by a softball field and there are usually places to park cars. Can you see the bike rack? It's almost covered.

And here I go.....

Next stop, the Library. I was very excited to see the Library for two reasons. First, it looks so pretty with the snow covered trees. Second, it's right next to the post office!

The mailbox! Hooray!

My next thought was, "Hmmm....I'm really not that far from my school. I wonder what's going on over there!" (I really should figure out when to listen to that little voice in my head and when to ignore it!) So, I skied a few more blocks for "fun" and then turned around and headed to the school. I had been there two days ago and nothing had been plowed in a long time. I was thankful Scott had taken me in his jeep that day...had to feed those frogs! Well, guess what! Nothing had been plowed yet.....

Then I heard a truck on the other side of the snow pile...could it be a plow? Nope! It was our head electrician....he waved at me and then went back to work....(I think he was trying to free his truck!)

Here is what I saw when I looked down at my skis (yes, those are skis!).....that was some serious work to get through that parking lot. It would have been nice if someone had groomed some trails through the lot for me! :)

One thing we have plenty of around here are deer. We see them all the time. Sure enough, there were some hanging around the school. I don't know but they even look tired of all this snow.

I was out for almost an hour and a half and the wind started gusting. It was time to head home. I actually enjoyed the trip and got some good exercise. I have to admit, though, it was nice to come in and cozy up in my flannel jammies with a warm cup of coffee. I have to rest up a little before we go out to move some snow....again! We have easily received at least 6 more inches today, probably more!

A "Not So Gentle" Reminder....

Well, after a beautiful sunny day yesterday, Mother Nature decided to give us a "Not So Gentle" reminder that we do, after all, live in the Pacific Northwest.....another 2 to 4 inches coming our way today!

Being ever so thoughtful, she is tucking my little red baby back in with her blanket of snow.

Looks like I have no more excuses...time to get the cross country skis out today!

A Long Lost Friend....

I looked outside and thought something seemed a little strange today. I couldn't figure out what it was but it seemed vaguely familiar.....what was it?

And then, I saw it...could it be? Was the sun actually trying to come out?

It looks like it was taking a little peek from behind the clouds.....

It was trying so hard to show itself....

Almost like a battle between the clouds and sun....who will win?

Hooray! The sun made it's way back!

I can even see some shadows....

Look, there is my little red car. She looks so shiny and new and so happy to be free from the snow blanket it has been buried under for days and days....

I had to wonder.....could things be looking up for my little reindeer?

Well, I guess we can't have everything we want all at once! I suspect the sun won't stay around for long but how nice that Mother Nature gave us this little glimpse of hope!

Just Doin' My Part...

I decided that we need a break in the weather so I have changed my background for my blog...the snowflakes and snowmen are gone! Don't get me wrong, I hope there is plenty of the powdery white stuff in the mountains for all my skiing friends but I think 46 inches of snow in one month is enough for anyone....seriously! :)

It's Christmas Time!

Merry Christmas to everyone! We had a very nice Christmas Day. We started the day at our place....you know Santa always leaves some stocking stuffed with goodies and a few presents. We all feel very grateful and a little spoiled.

Look how happy Santa can make a girl!

Once a Coug, always a Coug!

After all the gifts were opened, we had a nice breakfast casserole and a couple of us took a little nap...nope, not Shannon! After a quiet Christmas morning with just the three of us, we headed out to my parents. It's a tradition that I love! We definitely had a "White Christmas" this year. Of course, you all already know that!

We were very excited to share gifts and I think everyone was happy to see what they had received but I think the best part is in the giving! (Although, I am very excited to use my new coffeepot with my Starbucks coffee. It will go perfect with the biscotti I received!) Shannon always plays "Santa" and passes out the presents. She loves to do that.

Hmmm....looks like being "Santa" is a very tiring job!

Oh, and if anyone was wondering, I did receive the newest Hallmark Singing Snowmen. I am now up to four in my collection. It seems like they get better every year! Just click on the play button and listen!

When we were at my parents on Monday, Scott kept playing with Holly's gifts and wrapping. It is a habit he has had for as long as I can remember....he is always fidgeting. This got my dad to thinking and he remembered a little game his dad had made when he was younger. Dad went to work yesterday and gave Scott something to "fiddle with". It's simple, just move the washer to the other end of the stick. One catch, don't untie the string!

That little stick, string and washer kept most of us busy all afternoon. I was finally able to do it once, but I couldn't do it again!

We had a huge and yummy dinner....ham, rolls, salad, au gratin potatoes, green bean casserole and jello salad. Way to go mom! You pulled off another excellent holiday meal! It's the highlight of the day. We were in charge of bringing desert and I thought I'd try something new, a Christmas Trifle!

I don't know what I was thinking....it was very tasty but it pretty much pushed us all over the edge. Talk about full tummies! We were definitely ready to come home and climb into our comfy jammies and digest for a while. Of course, one last tradition...

We usually take a lot of family pictures including the whole family but I guess we were too full and too tired. I am already regretting that we didn't do that....but, wait! Hmmm....mom's birthday is just around the corner. I feel a photo opportunity coming!

Monday Was A Busy Day!

Monday was a busy day! Scott and Holly went to town to meet with his boss for his new job! Scott and Holly did some Christmas shopping and went out for a nice lunch. When they got home, Shannon and I were "sent to our rooms" so they could do a little wrapping. :) After that, we had a little Christmas celebration with Holly since she was heading home to Seattle the next day. We had a few little treasures for her and she had some yummy "Bath and Body" scents for us! I have to confess that I gave Holly a "Just Like Mom Made" cookbook and couldn't resist telling her she might need this to take care of my son....she said Scott will use the cookbook a lot! :)

After dinner, (Bruchis courtesy of Shannon), we headed over to my parents so they could share a little Christmas spirit with Holly....at least that's what Scott thought! When we got there, mom and dad had ordered a graduation cake for Scott. Shannon and I had a graduation Beanie Bear for him and a framed copy of one of Scott's favorite sayings, "The Heart of a Coug".

And then, of course, there were some Christmas gifts for Holly! Mom and dad must have been thinking the same as me since they gave Holly a cookbook, too! Well, at least we know they have a lot of recipes no matter who does the cooking! They also gave her a mini-tackle box filled with candy. A girl with two cookbooks and her own tackle box, no wonder Scott proposed!

Holly brought my parents a very pretty picture frame so they have something for the engagement picture. Now, they haven't had one taken yet so Holly "created" one of her own.

It was a great day....it's always nice to spend time with family, with or without celebrations!